I so often associate fall with beautiful colors, hearty stews and shooting deer. But when it arrives I remember that fall also means cold, rainy days. Not that I mind too much; if you bundle up and never stray more than a few hours from a hot shower and a trusty espresso machine, it’s all good. This morning Scott had planned for a high-intensity anaerobic workout on the Chewuch with some motor-pacing involved. However, when I woke up a little before 7am and saw the sheets of water running off the roof, I knew we’d be changing plans. Sure enough, about fifteen minutes later Scott called and we re-scheduled the day to include a 2-hour distance run and some hill power sprints in the evening. Believe it or not, skiing at top speed next to a car in the middle of the road and swerving back and forth across those REALLY slippery painted stripes in the road is…a bit sketch.
Besides, getting out for a run this morning meant I got to train with my favorite (sorry, Mr. IPod) training partner:
We took a moderate route from our house in Mazama and jumped on to the Methow Community Trail, which in the winter runs as an unbroken 16ft-wide skating platform with two classic tracks from Mazama to Winthrop (30km). In the dry months, it offers a 10km out-and-back plus an alternate 10km loop from Mazama. We opted for the out-and-back to Brown’s Farm and set off with Nikki prancing happily beside us. Upon turning around I got a good look at the mountains and was PSYCHED to see snowline barely 2000ft above us:
A bit hard to see in the photo, but that’s snow on the hills amidst the fog on the left-hand side. Sure, it’s going to melt tomorrow, but we’re getting closer! However at this time of year I always have mixed feelings about the onset of winter. I’m excited for it to arrive and to get on snow, but I also balance that with thinking that I’m not ready yet, training-wise. I still want another full month of solid pre-comp training before I’m ready to sail in to West Yellowstone with an anaerobic Hemi under my hood.
The new Scott men’s eRide Grip trail shoe – SUPER lightweight and grippy, perfect for fall trail running.
Hammer Nutrition care package- those boys in Whitefish, MT can sure concoct a madly effective cocktail of high-performance goodness!
The plan I’ve been working off for training right now is following a 16-day microcycle; Scott thought this would be the best way to lump in all the key workouts while still maintaining enough rest between each. So far it’s been successful; I’m halfway through this block and am really noticing the gains which are coming from an increase in anaerobic workouts, especially when I go out to do the aerobic workouts we’ve been hitting all season. And there’s still more work to be done! Seven weeks until West…
